TtOW! - Chapter 30: Magnumiter (Patreon)

The next morning NSLICE-00P once again performed her audio test as Ateia and Taog spoke to one another.  She determined that they were not, in fact, speaking English.

Or any language of Earth recorded in her database.

To be fair, NSLICE-00P was designed as an enforcer, not a translator or historian, so her language data was limited to the major languages of the modern day.  It was entirely possible they were speaking a less widespread or older language that had fallen out of use.  But that would not change the ultimate conclusion.

It seemed increasingly likely NSLICE-00P was not in modern day Earth.  Most likely not even within the twentieth or twenty-first centuries, if the observed technological level applied to the larger population centers as well.  And most likely not Earth at all, given the environmental mana, the changes to her Geo-Oscillator Engine, the different sapient species, and the unidentified language.

The probability of succeeding in her mission was dropping by the moment.  But NSLICE-00P didn’t know what she could do to change that at present.  She had no protocols at all regarding time travel or spaceflight, and hadn’t yet determined which of those was necessary.  She did have the record of traveling through time but again, she was an enforcer, not an engineer, and had no experience designing or constructing advanced technology on her own.  And she didn’t exactly scan the time travel device in great detail when her commander used it on her.  Reverse engineering time travel from that one experience had a lower probability of success than even her current mission.  Likewise conducting a spaceflight program from scratch in a pre-industrial society with an ultimately unknown destination was…not the most feasible of options.

All in all, she couldn’t yet come up with any better response than to continue on with her current course of action, and gather as much intel as she could on her current location.  After all, there was a chance that additional intel or the resources offered by her allies might change the equation.  Mana had already defied her predictions more than once, so perhaps it may offer a novel solution.

“Seero?”

She logged Ateia’s voice just as she was concluding her latest set of calculations.  The girl had walked over with a bowl of soup and a piece of bread.

“Acknowledgement: Does friendly Ateia have a request or query?”

“Breakfast is ready, do you want some?”

“Negative Response: This unit’s organic components are operating at full efficiency, and do not require refueling at the moment.”

Ateia frowned.

“Are you sure?  It’s just…we haven’t seen you eat anything at all.  I…um, if there’s a reason, then don’t mind me, but you don’t need to hold back or anything.”

NSLICE-00P noted Ateia’s concern and reviewed her own logs.  It seemed she hadn’t conducted organic refueling in quite some time, ever since before completing her last mission and arriving here, in fact.  Long past when her predicted refueling time would have been.  Upon closer inspection, she noted mana from her core passing through her organic components, keeping them at full health much like with her cybernetic parts.

As a result, she had not logged or submitted any requests for organic refueling as her efficiency had not dropped below the level that would trigger it.

NSLICE-00P did not have any particular problem with that, but she had no data on the nutritional value of mana or the side effects of subsisting solely off of it, so she could not rule out a later drop in efficiency should the situation persist.  She decided to request additional data from her former dungeon master allies at a later time.  For now…

“Recalculated Response: Friendly Ateia’s concern is noted and deemed as valid.  This unit requests organic refueling.”

Ateia tilted her head at NSLICE-00P’s words, but smiled as the cyborg held out her hand.  Ateia handed her the food.

“You’re welcome to eat with us anytime, Seero…”

Ateia froze.

NSLICE-00P stared at the loaf.  She formed a mana barrier to the side and placed the bowl of soup on it.

“Organic processing deemed inefficient for nutrient structure.”

She held it in one hand, and then pummeled the bread repeatedly with her fist, using a small mana barrier to catch any crumbs.

Once the bread had been sufficiently reduced to dust, she then poured that into the bowl of soup.

Then she grabbed the bowl, tilted back her head, and poured the entire thing down her throat in one go.

This entire process took less than a minute.  Ateia’s jaw dropped as NSLICE-00P handed her the empty bowl.

“Gratitude: This unit thanks friendly Ateia for the organic fuel.”

“Um…a-anytime?”

***

The rest of the day passed without incident.  On Taog’s insistence, the pair paused their explanation of the Empire’s history to instead give NSLICE-00P a comprehensive overview of the Empire’s laws on self-defense and murder.  At least, as far as they knew it.  The pair may be relatively well-learned on account of Ateia’s Exploratores father, but they were still commoners from the frontier, so they were hardly experts on legal matters.

So the lesson mostly boiled down to Taog insisting that NSLICE-00P avoid killing people as much as possible.

He was too afraid to lie to her though, when she requested specific wording on the laws.  So he was left deeply anxious about NSLICE-00P's next visit to an Imperial settlement.

Which was scheduled to happen that very evening.

And so the group arrived at the first stop in their trip, the town of Magnumiter.  A pair of guards stopped the group on the way in.  These also leaned on the sides of the gate, yawning as they watched people come and go, though at least these guards had some worn Imperial armor to their name.

“Halt…oh, it’s you guys.  Here to sell to the market again?”

Ateia shook her head.

“We’re just passing through this time!”

The guard nodded, and then raised an eyebrow at NSLICE-00P.

“Is she with you?  I haven’t heard of any knights passing through lately…”

Ateia nodded.

“Yes, she’s our escort for the trip.”

The guards exchanged glances, looking over at NSLICE-00P.  Especially the glowing core at the center of her torso.  The speaker heaved a sigh.

“Still, I’m going to have to see some identification, miss…”

“Answer: This unit is designated NSLICE-00P, and has activated IFF signals for foreign encounters.”

“Um, Enslice Seero Seero Pee, was it?  What is this, ‘aye ef ef’?”

He shook his head.

“Um, well, if you don’t have any identification, we’ll have to analyze your status.  Please come this way.”

Taog held his breath.

“Affirmative.”

He released it.  Fortunately for Taog, NSLICE-00P’s protocols included declaring her identity to local authorities, so as to legitimize any actions she needed to take.  She did have protocols about withholding classified intel on her components, but these did not mention the foreign system status.

Taog then froze, starting to sweat as he realized something else.

They were finally about to discover NSLICE-00P’s identity.

And who exactly they had brought into an Imperial settlement.

The guards took Ateia, Taog, and NSLICE-00P into a nearby barracks, a handful of other soldiers lazing about.  They walked over to a robed clerk, who raised an eyebrow at the three approaching him.  The guard explained the situation and the clerk nodded, pulling out a device.  It a crystal sphere suspended with metal arms.  On one side, two metal arms held a blank, double layered scroll that was stretched underneath the sphere.  The clerk motioned to NSLICE-00P.

“Please place your hand on the Sortis Inquiro.”

“Affirmative.”

She did as asked and the clerk channeled his mana through the device.  The sphere flashed, words appearing on the scroll below.  He pulled it out and cut off the written section, examining it for a moment.

Taog held his breath once more.

He nodded, splitting the two layers of the parchment.  He stamped each and then handed one to NSLICE-00P.

“NSLICE-00P was it?  Well, welcome to the Empire it seems.  Keep hold of that while you’re in town.”

The guards raised an eyebrow at that, the lazing guards in the room stopping and staring.  The clerk just shrugged and went back to whatever he was working on.

“Status says she's a regular human and not on the wanted list.  Job’s done far as I'm concerned, unless you all want to fill out reports justifying a special investigation?”

The guards quickly turned away and went back to their ‘business’.  The guard who had led the group in shook his head and led them out.

“Well, take care then.”

And returned to his post.

And so the group entered Magnumiter.  NSLICE-00P glanced about, taking stock of the town.

A fairly small town by Imperial standards but still the largest location on the frontier with the Forest of Beasts.  It was laid out in the typical Imperial fashion, a standardized grid of stone buildings and two large streets running through the center.  It had been designed as a forward operating base for a Legion expedition into the forest, so there were a number of large structures that had been barracks at one point.  These had since been converted into multi-room homes, or inns for travelers.  Most of the Imperial settlers in the area made their way to Magnumiter on a regular basis to trade for whatever they couldn’t get in their small hamlets, after all.

It was also home to whatever trade and diplomacy the tribes from the Forest of Beasts were willing to conduct.  NSLICE-00P even observed wulver walking around, though they did not seem to be hostile at the moment.  She noted some other figures with similarly bestial features, though not all canine as the wulver were.

She then glanced down at the parchment in her hand.  Her robotic eye began to spin and flicker.

She couldn’t read it.

It seemed whatever auto-translation function the foreign system provided her did not extend to written word.

“Um, Seero?  We should go find an inn before it gets dark.”

“Affirmative.”

Ateia and Taog jumped as NSLICE-00P placed the parchment against her core, causing it to vanish in a flash of light.  They quickly glanced around and then at each other.

“Let’s move.”

“Come on, Seero, we have to go!”

“Query: Is there a particular reason for additional haste?  This unit has not detected any hostiles in the vicinity.”

Taog just groaned and thought to himself.

Yep.

She had no idea what she just did, did she?

Author’s Note:

Time for NSLICE-00P’s first interactions with intelligent, civilized life!

Lar doesn’t count as intelligent or civilized.

What’s that?

Oh, yes, of course.

NSLICE-00P’s second interactions with intelligent, civilized life.  Because of course, the Great-High King of all the land’s realm was the epitome of culture and intellect before its sudden and tragic demise, yes yes.

Lilussees…hasn’t said anything because she’s asleep, so we’ll say second interaction for now.

And I guess the wulver are also intelligent.  Civilized depends on your point of view but they’re as civilized as they feel like being so we’ll say yes.  So third interaction with civilized life?

…

It’s her first time in a big town, ok?!

Anyways!

Can NSLICE-00P find a way to continue her mission under these circumstances?  Can Taog prevent any terminations while in town?  Will NSLICE-00P encounter intelligent, civilized life here?  And what is written on the parchment?  Tune in next time, to find out!